Sugar Rush
by Bespectacled BriarRose
Summary: The Avengers are called on a mission, and Bucky makes Darcy promise to not fall apart like last time. She agrees, but at what cost? They end up throwing a fundraiser in Central Park, there's lots of cookies, and, wait, was that actually who Darcy thought it was? DarcyxBucky fluff and angst. Set in the Three A.M. universe.


_I do not own the Avengers or any other familiar characters/references._

 **Darcy**

Darcy groaned as the "Mighty Mouse" theme blared through the bedroom. She pulled the covers over her head and kicked Bucky.

"Make th'noise stop, James," she grumbled. Bucky growled and rolled out of bed, and the noise stopped.

"What?" grunted Bucky into the phone. Darcy rolled over as he spoke back and forth. "Really? Poland? Why the hell are we answering this one?" Bucky was pulling on boxer briefs, his back turned to the bed as he rummaged for his black Kevlar pants and a t-shirt to wear under his uniform. "Fine, _Captain_ ," he groused as he grabbed socks. He hung up the phone and sat on the bed to pull his socks on.

"So, where ya headed, Jimmy?" asked Darcy, slightly more awake. She propped herself up on her elbow, letting the covers slip towards her waist.

Bucky twisted to look at her, caught one look at her naked torso, and spun away again, breathing deeply. "There's a situation in Sokovia, and Speedy and Sparkles are waiting for backup. Namely, us." He turned, keeping his eyes locked firmly on Darcy's sleepy blue eyes. "We'll be back in a couple days, alright? Promise me that you'll take care of yourself this time. You totally fell apart last time I was gone, and you can't do that again. Nobody will be focused on the mission if they don't know you're okay." Darcy pulled the blankets up to her nose, sinking down into the bed. Her eyes were downcast, and she felt the heat rising in her cheeks at the memory of how she fell apart last time Bucky went on a mission that was out of country. She was always fine when he was in the states and she knew that Tony or Clint could have him home in a few hours if he got hurt bad. He was also able to communicate with her more easily, just to let her know that he and everyone else were okay. But overseas, none of that was guaranteed. She had no way to keep an eye on her family. She sniffled as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye, and Bucky pressed his lips to her forehead. "Please promise me, Darce. I can't spend my time worrying about you."

"I promise that I'll hold it together. But I can't promise that you guys won't come back to a common area overflowing with baked goods and Pinterest crafts," she said, curling around Bucky's back as he strapped a few knives to his thighs and two pistols to his hips.

"Thank you, Darcy," he whispered, turning and pressing his lips to hers. "I've got to go, baby, but I'll be back before you know it."

"Be safe," she whispered. "And tell Clint to fly safe and Nat to keep an eye on everyone for me. I love you, James."

"I love you too, Darcy," he replied, pressing his lips to her hair one more time before he left the bedroom. Darcy glanced at the clock and decided that three a.m. was totally an acceptable time to wake up. She waited until Bucky called a last goodbye from the front door and the lock clicked behind him. She climbed out of bed and dug out a clean pair of underwear before pulling James' t-shirt from yesterday over her head. Her hair was sticking up in a million directions as she found a pair of pajama shorts and fuzzy socks to wear out to the main kitchen. Sliding her glasses onto her nose and twirling her hair up into a bun, Darcy wandered over to brush her teeth before heading out to the main kitchen area.

"Well this is gonna be a helluva time," she muttered to herself as she tried to reach the spare packet of coffee filters. Steve had put groceries away last time, and he obviously hadn't remembered her request that the coffee filters be kept on a lower shelf. Giving up on reaching that high on her own, Darcy dragged one of the stools from the island over to the cabinet and crawled up onto it.

"Please be careful, Darcy," Jarvis seemed to sigh from the ceiling or walls or wherever Tony had put his speakers.

"If I fall, it's Steve's fault," she grimaced as she stretched to reach the elusive filters. She finally gripped the box in her hand and slid off of the stool in one fluid movement. "See? I'm fine."

"In the future, I will remind Captain Rogers to be more sensitive to your height restrictions," said Jarvis, seemingly still exasperated.

"If you were human, I'd offer you a cuppa, but, since you're not, I'll just drink the whole pot myself," remarked Darcy. "Hey, do you have any idea how long they'll be in Sokovia?"

"It seems like the situation is worse than when Mr. Maximoff first called it in, but it should not take them more than three days to resolve, assuming lack of outside complications," replied the AI. "And I assume that, were I human, I am sure that I would very much enjoy the gesture offered by the cup of coffee." Darcy just smiled as the coffee pot bubbled away. She pulled one of her cook books down from the small, rustic shelving unit that she and Pepper had picked out a few months ago. The two of them had re-done the kitchen exactly to Darcy's specifications a few months ago, when she had started running between apartment ovens like a madwoman before Rhodey's birthday to get all of the desserts done in time. The new kitchen had a rustic charm that reminded Darcy of her grandmother's kitchen back in Illinois, and even had some of the older Lewis woman's things on the counter. Darcy grabbed an apple from her grandmother's large, crystal fruit bowl and munched on it as she flipped through the worn, dog-eared pages. The coffee maker beeped and Darcy scrambled to pour most of the pot into her overly large Supernatural coffee mug. Taking the mug – which depicted and anti-possession symbol – over to where she had been sitting, she resumed flipping through the cookbook.

 **.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

A few hours later, Darcy was putting the finishing touches on the last of what had ended up being an insane amount of frosted sugar cookies. Darcy had just measured without really thinking, and she had ended up with enough cookies to feed maybe about a hundred people. Pepper stumbled into the kitchen, her red hair in a messy braid, pajamas rumpled from sleep, and headed straight for the coffee maker, which Darcy had re-started approximately twice more after the initial struggle with the filters. Luckily for the redheaded CEO, the latest pot had just finished brewing.

"Morning Pep," chirped Darcy, a few strand of her still-damp hair hanging slightly in her eyes. She had run back to her apartment for a shower as the cookies had fully cooled on the counter. Pepper sipped at her coffee and looked at the sheer mass of cookies on the counter through tangled bangs.

"I take it this will be continuing for the next few days?" the redhead asked, stifling a yawn behind her coffee mug.

Darcy blushed a little. "I was thinking we could have a bake sale to benefit the reconstruction fund, especially after last month's tussle with General Ross." Pepper picked up one of the cookies, which bore a purple-fletched arrow iced onto the top, and took a big bite.

"Sounds like a good idea," she mumbled around the cookie. She chased it with a swig of coffee as Darcy laughed at her. "We can set it up for the day after tomorrow in Central Park; the lab assistants can help us sell, and Sam can make an appearance, because he still hasn't been cleared for combat. And, who knows, maybe the team will be back by then." Darcy grinned as she rolled up the sleeves of her plaid shirt and began to scrub at all of the dishes in the sink. Pepper began to stack the more set cookies into boxes lined with waxed paper. Darcy joined her a bit later, and most of the cookies were boxed up within minutes, with a small plate piled with some for those still in the tower.

"How do pancakes and cinnamon rolls sound for breakfast?" asked Darcy, wiping her hands on the towel tied around her waist like an apron.

"Sounds good to me," replied Pepper. "I'm just going to grab a quick shower and my phone so we can get this bake sale on the road." Darcy saluted her friend as Pepper walked out of the kitchen to go and look like Pepper Potts, CEO, versus Pepper Potts, coffee-fueled zombie. Darcy began to pull ingredients for pancakes and cinnamon rolls from the pantry.

"Hey Jarvis?" she asked as she measured and poured and whisked the batter.

"Yes, Darcy?"

"Can you send a wake up call to Sam and Jane? I wouldn't want them to miss breakfast. Also, can you send a message to the contacts under "Girls' Night" for help with the bake sale?" she asked as she began to mix up the cinnamon for the center of the cinnamon rolls. She set it aside and began to toss together the dough ingredients.

"Of course, Darcy," replied the AI. "I will send Mr. Wilson and Dr. Foster down in a few minutes." Darcy sent a loose salute towards the ceiling and began mixing up the dough for the cinnamon rolls. She made quick work of rolling out the dough, spreading the cinnamon mixture across it, and rolling and cutting it up to bake in the oven.

 **.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

Pepper strolled in just as Darcy was flipping the first pancakes, closely followed by a glassy-eyed Jane and a soldier just back from his morning run. "Hey, guys. Sam, you awake enough to handle a knife and cut up some strawberries for me?"

"Sure, pretty lady," grinned Sam, tugging on a loose strand of hair from Darcy's braid and pressing a brotherly kiss to her cheek. "So, how long have you been up exactly?" he asked, eying the plate of cookies.

"Since about three-thirty," she replied, pulling the first group of pancakes from the griddle and setting the next ones to fry up nice and golden brown. "Janey, coffee's on the bubble. Give it five minutes." Sam was expertly chopping and coring strawberries while Pepper had stepped up to make whipped cream, which she was mixing with relentless efficiency. Darcy looked over at Pepper, who was wearing old ripped jeans and a worn t-shirt. Sam was still in his running gear, and Jane had managed to get herself dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a tank top. Her socks didn't match, and her bra seemed to be twisted under the form-fitting, ribbed material, but she was dressed, which was unusual before coffee.

"Darce, didn't you go back to sleep after they got the call?" asked Pep, her eyebrows creased.

Darcy shrugged, "Nope. Couldn't sleep. Poland is far away. I promised I wouldn't freak out again, so here I am. I'll start on the Pinterest binge in a few hours." She flipped the pancakes, her cheeks burning behind the loose curls that escaped from her slow-drying braid. She snagged a cookie off the plate and bit into it, the sugary icing tasting dry and unappealing. She ate the cookie anyway. She held it in her mouth as she pulled the latest group of pancakes and started the others. Jane was sitting at the island bar area with coffee in her hand, and her brown eyes were much less glassy then they had been before.

"I'm going to call in to Coulson and say I need you in the lab for these next few days," remarked the scientist, taking another sip from her jokey science mug. "The work would mostly be filing and re-organizing the lab. Maybe setting up a few cool experiments for the kids at the bake sale thing and making a whole event out of it. That sound good, Pep?"

Pepper set down the finished bowl of whipped cream and moved to pull the cinnamon rolls from the beeping oven. "Sounds like fun. Sam, would you mind rounding up some other heroes to make an appearance? We could see if the Army band would mind making an appearance, and maybe we could see if some of those local cover bands are free."

"I can make photo booth props and such," added Darcy, flipping the last of the pancakes onto the plate with the rest of them. "Order up!" she joked as she slid the plate further onto the island before turning to grab the syrup. She turned to see her little ragtag group serving up pancakes and cinnamon rolls while drinking what was probably a very unhealthy amount of coffee. "Thank you, guys," she blurted out. "I'm sorry that I'm sometimes unable to handle this stuff really well, but I'm just, well, I'm really glad you put up with me." The words all tumbled out in a rush of breath and Darcy's cheeks flamed up as she set the syrup on the counter next to the butter and pancakes. She moved around the counter to grab a plate and a cinnamon roll.

"Why are you apologizing?" asked Jane, confused. "Your reactions are _nothing_ compared to when Thor left the first few times. You put up with catatonic, science-obsessed me, so this is nothing. Plus, you feed me very well."

"Yeah, Darce," added Pepper around a mouthful of pancakes. She swallowed and continued, "First few times Tony went out, I was a total wreck. I didn't eat or sleep until he got back. One time, I ended up in the hospital. It only got easier when you and Jane moved in, to be honest."

"Really? Are you . . . really okay with this?" Darcy was astonished as she looked at her friends.

"Of course, Darcy-girl," said Sam, tugging her braid again. "You're one of us, and, while we might not like how you handle things, we can always count on coming home to a warm home filled to the brim with food, clean clothes, and well-fed cats." Sam grinned at her as a petulant mewling came from the corner of the kitchen where the cats' food was located. Darcy rolled her eyes and grabbed the bag of cat food to fill the bowl.

"You know you're feeding these cats sometimes since you're stuck here," she replied, a smile pulling the corners of her lips upward. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and turned back to her friends. "Thank you so much. I'm so glad I have you guys," she whispered, wiping at her eyes. The Avenger and Avengers' ladies came over and wrapped Darcy in a big group hug.

"Love you, D," whispered Jane, kissing Darcy on the cheek.

"Now, what do you say we get to making this event happen?" said Darcy, disentangling herself from the mess of arms and legs. "And let's hope our boys and girls can get their asses back here in time to make an appearance."

 **.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

The next afternoon found Darcy covered in flour and paint smears as she pulled another tray of cupcakes out of the top oven. Pepper was over at the island, piping swirls of coffee buttercream onto chocolate cupcakes as she spoke on the phone with another band to play the event. The mayor had thought it was a great idea, and had immediately agreed. The event was all about promoting safety in a crisis, with Sam doing a presentation on the proper ways to stay safe during an attack, followed by live music and ending with a movie showing in the evening of "Casablanca", which was the mayor's favorite. Admission would be free, but all profits from refreshments would go to the reconstruction fund.

"Okay, thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow," said Pepper as she clicked off her Bluetooth earpiece.

"So, which band did you finally pick?" asked Darcy as she quickly filled another cupcake tray and popped it in the oven just as the other oven beeped. She rushed over to pull the pies, which she set on the counter by the stove to cool before putting two more pies in to bake.

"I just got off the phone with a jazz combo to play as an opener-slash-general-background to the first part of the event. They'll move to another spot in the park while Sam does his presentation, and then they'll play until the actual band shows up," replied Pepper, who was still icing the cupcakes.

"Awesome," replied Darcy, "but who'd you get to play as the main event?"

"Oh, well, I actually got a couple groups who volunteered to take time out of their time off to come play. They're not all bands, exactly, but, hey, it's going to give a lot of variety," replied the redhead, eluding the answer.

"Pep, give me answers, or, so help me, I will go over your head to find out," said Darcy, grinning at her friend.

Pepper shot her a funny look as the third oven beeped, and Darcy hurried over to pull out the pans of brownies she had baking in there. "How can you go over my head? That doesn't even make sense."

Darcy grinned as she began to mix up a caramel-mocha drizzle for some of the cupcakes. "I meant sort of literally. Jarvis? Can you tell me what groups Pepper got to play the charity event tomorrow?"

"Of course, Darcy," replied the AI as Pepper sat at the counter laughing. "She has gotten in touch with the a capella group called Pentatonix, the country singers Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt, the artist Taylor Swift, and a classic rock cover band called "Prayer" from the bar that the men often frequent on guys night out." Darcy's jaw hung open in shock at some of the names.

"I also got maybes from Walk the Moon and ZZ Top," replied Pepper nonchalantly.

"You got Taylor Swift? AND Pentatonix?! Oh my god, I'm going to meet them. Can I meet them? Pleasepleaseplease let me meet them!" begged Darcy, running around to Pepper's side of the counter with her hair covered in flour and a streak of melted chocolate on her cheek.

"Yeah, sure, of course!" laughed Pepper as Darcy launched herself at her. The brunette buried her face in the redhead's shoulder, grinning like a madwoman. Pepper was the best. She was definitely a bridesmaid if Darcy and Bucky ever got married. "Now, we've got to finish these desserts before tonight, because they all need to be boxed up and brought over to Central Park before noon."

"Aye aye, Bosslady," saluted Darcy, getting more chocolate on her face. She went back to mixing up the drizzle for the cupcakes, getting it done just as the oven beeped.

"Darcy, Dr. Foster would like you to know that the cookies are done baking and are all cooled and boxed up. Mr. Wilson would also like to let you both know that the stage is going to be set up by ten a.m., and the bake sale booth by eleven. The event will begin at noon. Miss Potts, you have a few volunteer applicants waiting outside your office for you to let them know if they are needed or not," stated the AI.

"Alright," said Pepper, wiping her hands on a towel. She stood up and moved over to kiss Darcy on the cheek as she pulled the cupcakes out of the oven, which the brunette accepted gracefully. Usually, in her sleep-deprived state, she wouldn't accept affection from anybody. But Darcy's coffee-run state managed to recognize that Pepper was trying to help and, in order to keep her promise to Bucky, she needed to not snap at Pepper. She should also probably sleep. Hm. "Let me know if you need any help later, alright?" the redhead called over her shoulder.

"Will do, Pep," lied Darcy, waving. She wiped her forehead on the back of her hand and kept whipping up buttercreams. She was looking forward to having all of the cakes out of the oven and frosted so she could drink until she slept.

 **.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

The next day found Darcy perched at the kitchen counter in old cutoffs and one of Bucky's t-shirts, downing coffee at ten in the morning, after having been up until seven, drinking and baking and making all sorts of Mason jar and crayon crafts. The living area had multiple yarn, crayon, and Mason jar things covering all available walls and surfaces.

"Hey, Darce, you ready to get this show on the road?" asked Sam, walking into the kitchen in half of his Falcon uniform. His bare, toned chest was still slightly damp from his shower, and Darcy couldn't help but oogle the rarely-seen sight that was Sam Wilson's bare chest.

"Yeah, um, just, give me a second to go get changed?" she replied, her voice slightly squeaky. No matter how long she lived here, Darcy doubted that she would ever get used to the abundance of cut superheroes that she lived with walking half-naked through her kitchen. "Also, while the entire female population would probably appreciate you shirtless, don't you want to, I don't know, _not_ get mobbed on the way over there?"

Sam laughed as he grabbed a muffin off of the plate where they were piled high. Darcy had made them about four hours ago and hadn't been able to touch a single one. Darcy took her coffee with her as she made her way back to her room to put on her Avengers t-shirt and a pair of good tennis shoes. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed when she saw the dark circles under her eyes. She couldn't go out like this, looking like she got punched. So she stopped for a moment and applied a very generous amount of concealer to camouflage the dark purple splotches. She popped her contacts in before sliding a pair of sunglasses onto the top of her mess of curly hair. She began to tame the mess into a ponytail as she slid her feet into a pair of running shoes before walking out the door.

 **.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

A few hours later, Sam had finished his presentation, and Darcy was helping four customers at a time from behind a huge table. "Hey Darcy-girl, how are you feeling?" asked Sam, ducking behind the table to grab a bottle of water.

"I'm okay," she hedged as she counted out change. "Really busy, and don't you have a photo-op to get to?"

"Don't snap at me, Darcy," he said, chucking a finger under her chin. "You're my little sister, and I want to know you're okay."

Darcy just sighed and hung her head. "Shouldn't they be back soon? Jarvis said it would only take three days, tops. Shouldn't he or Steve or Clint or Nat have called?"

"They're totally fine, I promise. Don't worry your pretty little head, girly," Sam grinned. Darcy sighed as she shifted baked goods around on the table. The sheer amount of cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and cakes had shocked even Pepper, who had helped with quite a bit of the baking and decorating.

"Thanks, Sam," she replied, rocking up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You're the best big brother ever." Sam grinned wide and tried to snag a cookie, to which Darcy responded with what had been dubbed her "ninja kitchen skills". She went over to talk to Coulson, her eye still on Sam as he left the grouping of tables and headed over to his photo op. "Hey, Phil. How are things going over here?" she asked as she went to retrieve more cookies to place in Coulson's work area.

"Things are going really well here, right Miss D'Ancanto?" replied her cousin, raising an eyebrow at his co-worker, whose white-streaked hair was tied back into a bun.

"Everythin's just peachy, darlin'," replied Marie, grinning at Darcy. Darcy waggled her eyebrows at her friend, who winked right back. Darcy caught the raised eyebrow of Remy, Marie's long-time boyfriend.

"You can only give me that look after you've proposed!" she called over to him. He rolled his red eyes at her and stuck out his tongue before the next kids in line for the photo shoot ran up to him.

"Gambit! You're so cool!" exclaimed the child, jumping into the outstretched arms of the hero. Marie laughed, her gloved hands carefully counting money. The child was whispering excitedly to the blushing X-Man, who made his way over to the table with the child in tow.

"So, Marie," he drawled, his face the same color as his eyes, "this yungun here has told me tha' I better make a choice, otherwise y'might get snatched up by another fella." Marie grinned and raised an eyebrow, hands on her hips.

"He's right, Remy. Y'all never know when another man might come and just sweep me off my feet," she said. She began to laugh as Sam stepped in and swept her up bridal style.

"Aw, Chere, don't be like that," grumbled Remy. "Well, I guess I better ask her then, huh kid?" The small boy grinned and shoved at the back of Remy's legs. Remy fell gracefully onto one knee, and Sam set Marie down. "Miss Marie D'Ancanto, will ya do me th'pleasure of becomin' my wife?"

Marie's hand flew to her mouth, and she nodded vigorously. Remy surged upwards and pulled her into a warm kiss. Darcy smiled and moved on, knowing she and her friend would celebrate with wine and brownies later. Making her rounds, Darcy stopped to chat with everyone working, as well as some customers.

 **.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

Before she knew it, it was time for the concert, and most of the baked goods had sold. She was just about to pack them away when a disheveled looking man in a trench coat sprinted up to her. "Excuse me, do you have any apple pies?" he asked, breathing heavily. His black hair was in a total disarray, and his blue eyes were inquisitive.

"Yeah, hon, of course we do," she replied. The man was out of breath and looked nervous. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, this is enough. It's homemade, right? And good?" he asked, holding the pie carefully in one hand as he handed over a wad of cash.

"Of course it is. Just let me get your change, and you can be on your way. Is the pie for someone special?" asked Darcy as she counted out the coins to hand back to the man.

"Yes, it is. I'm telling the man I love that I love him today, and he really likes pie. Apple pie, specifically," replied the man, his low voice graveled. Darcy got a really good look at his face, and almost froze. He looked so _familiar_ , like she had seen him somewhere before.

She shook her head, smiling at him widely. "Well, good luck with him. I hope he likes it."

"Thanks," replied the man, grinning a little. "I really hope Dean likes it, too." Darcy almost stopped breathing. Dark hair. Blue eyes. _Dean_.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself.

"Hey, Darce! Come on, the concert is starting!" called Jane from a few yards away.

Darcy jogged over, still dumbfounded. "Did you see – what just happened?"

"I have no idea, but come _on_!" said Jane, pulling her arm so that Darcy was following her. Darcy's eyes were busy scanning the park for the trench coat guy, and she saw him about ten yards away. He was proudly presenting the pie to a man with sandy hair and a leather jacket.

"No fucking way," she whispered, awed. The duo locked lips, and a tall man with shaggy dark hair jogged past her.

"I knew it!" he yelled victoriously, almost running into Darcy and Jane in his excitement. "Whoops, sorry ladies," he said, looking at them with deep hazel eyes.

"Y-yeah, no problem," stuttered Darcy. The man ran away, and Darcy turned to Jane, who looked very confused.

"Do we know him?" she asked as she continued to pull Darcy towards the stage area.

Darcy just looked at Jane before deadpanning, "I think one totally not fictional Sam Winchester just ran us over. And I may or may not have sold an apple pie to an angel of the Lord."

"What the hell?" asked Jane. "Whatever, we'll talk about this later, especially if we just ran into the _actual_ Sam Winchester, and that was the _actual_ Dean and Cas making out. But right now, we have to go introduce the concert and thank everyone for coming." Darcy just nodded dumbly as she followed Jane. Before they made it to the stage, they were ambushed by makeup artists and stylists, who shoved clean shirts at them, forced them into a makeshift changing room, and, when they came out, hit them with concealer, powder, and hairspray. Jane and Darcy were coughing as they stumbled into Pepper, who just laughed.

"Ready, ladies?" she asked, somehow looking like a powerful CEO in ripped jeans, beat-up Converse, and a faded red t-shirt.

"Yeah, totally," said Darcy, glancing down at Jane, then herself, and realizing that she looked like a hot mess next to them. Her cutoffs were frayed and ripped, and her black polka-dot blouse just looked totally out of place above the frayed denim and running shoes. "Hey, didn't I give someone my Docs..?" she asked, not totally focusing.

"Right, yeah! Hey, Andy, don't you have Darcy's shoes?" Pepper called over to a man dressed in gray slacks and a checked button down. He curled his lip in distaste as he gingerly picked up the heavy ankle boots by their laces and handed them to Darcy.

"Don't look so disgusted, man. Someday, I will dress you, and you will love me for it, because it will get you all _sorts_ of laid," she quipped as she toed off her tennis shoes and slid her feet into the well-loved black boots. "What are we waiting for?" she asked her friends, still feeling uncomfortable, but hiding it much better behind her favorite boots. Pepper squeezed her hand and Jane wrapped an arm around Darcy's waist as they walked onstage.

"Hello, and welcome everybody!" said Pepper into the microphone. "Thank you so much for coming to support the reconstruction fund!" The crowd cheered, and Pepper grinned at Darcy and Jane. "We all hope you had fun today, and that you're excited for this multi-feature concert! All of these artists volunteered to be here to close out the event, and they all agreed out of the goodness of their hearts, so, before they even get out here, let's give them a huge round of applause for being such wonderful people!" The crowd erupted again, and Darcy, Jane, and Pepper joined in. "And now we must give a huge round of applause to two very special ladies. Dr. Jane Foster was in charge of those cool science experiment stations, including the ones that gave you Hulk's strength, or Thor's control of lightning. She looks like she wants to say something, so I'm going to introduce to you all the amazing Dr. Jane Foster!" The crowd whooped and hollered, and Jane blushed lightly as she walked up to the microphone.

"Hello everyone! I hope you all had fun with the science stations! Science is a huge part of how the Avengers are able to do what they do, and I would like to let you all know that I have started a Foster Foundation for the Furthering of the Sciences, which will offer scholarships and intern opportunities for any aspiring scientist. Who knows? One of you could be the next me!" The entire crowd erupted in cheers and laughter as Jane stepped back.

Pepper looked a shocked kind of happy as she stepped up to the microphone again. "That was a pleasant surprise, now wasn't it! Let's hear it again for Dr. Foster!" She paused to let the crowd cheer. "Now, I'm sure you all noticed the insane amount of baked goods at the bake sale table. Weren't they delicious?" The crowd simultaneously agreed, and Darcy blushed, kicking her toes at the stage. "Well, all of those baked goods were made by one woman. Well, she had a bit of help, but she was the one mixing and baking and frosting until ridiculous hours of the morning. And not only did she make all of those delicious things, but she was the mastermind behind this whole event. Everyone, I would like to present to you, Miss Darcy Lewis!" The crowd cheered, and Darcy blushed even harder as Jane nudged her towards the microphone.

"Um, thank you so much everybody," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "This originally was, um, a hobby of mine that kept my mind off of some stress in my life. And, since that stress – namely a worry for my loved ones – has really grown lately, I began overdoing the hobby. The sheer number of cookies I made in one morning was somewhat terrifying to me, and, since the Avengers were gone and the four people in the Tower couldn't consume twelve dozen sugar cookies and live, I needed something to do with them, and I immediately thought of you guys." Darcy gestured vaguely at the audience, and there was a ripple of laughter. "I know the Avengers aren't as careful with your city as you might want them to be, but you're alive. And we want to be able to give the city back to you. Thank you, for helping us to help you all. And I'm really glad you enjoyed the baked goods, by the way!" She glanced back at Pepper, who gestured for her to introduce the first group, as her phone had just rung and she was chatting lowly on her Bluetooth. "Well, since Stark Industries seems to never let their CEO have a moment of fun, I'd really like to introduce our first group." There was an odd ripple in the crowd, and Darcy attempted to signal to a security guard. Not wanting to worry the populace, she continued to talk. "This group is very famous, amazingly attractive, and one of my personal favorites." She glanced backstage to confirm that the five members of Pentatonix were ready to go, receiving five thumbs up from five of her idols, she turned to address the crowd again. She had barely opened her mouth when Jane shrieked in excitement and launched herself towards the crowd. Darcy reached for her friend, freaked out that she was launching herself into an excited, clamoring crowd. Jane was caught midair by one very familiar, very large blond figure. Darcy's jaw hit the floor as the freshly-showered Thor spun Jane around. Tony hopped up onto the stage and ran towards Pepper, and the rest of the Avengers followed. They were all wearing civvies, and had obviously stopped to shower before joining the festivities. Darcy's eyes raked over the crowd, and she finally spotted a flash of almost-too-long brown hair and a leather jacket stretched tight over shoulders she had long ago committed to memory. Bucky was trying to not jostle the crowd too much, and she ran towards the edge of the stage as Steve took over the mic. She jumped down from the edge of the stage and began to wind her way through the crowd, making her way towards Bucky.

"Sorry for the interruption, everyone!" Steve apologized. "We tried to get back sooner, but the air traffic over the UK was insane. Introducing the first musical group, Pentatonix!" Darcy vaguely heard Steve introduce the a Capella group, focused almost entirely on getting to Bucky. She was frantically searching the crowd, and, in her haste, went careening into someone solid and warm. She looked up, meeting the familiar brown eyes of none other than James Buchannan Barnes.

"Sorry I'm late, doll," he said, his voice graveled with exhaustion. "I see you coped better this time."

"Not so much," she admitted, burying her face into his chest. "I didn't sleep much, and consumed more coffee than probably healthy. Also, alcohol. But I did better."

"I'm really proud of you for organizing this," he said, pressing his lips to her hair. She felt Bucky's arms tighten around her, and she jumped up, trusting him to catch her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She pressed her lips to his just as fireworks and pyrotechnics erupted from the stage.

 _A/N—This fic took me longer than it probably should have, but I'm satisfied with it. The ending is a bit weak and cliché, but I don't particularly care. This fic stemmed from my loneliness and my desire for a grand romantic gesture that I would, under normal circumstances, end up pretending to hate. Also, I love baking. And Pentatonix. This may or may not have spawned a Supernatural fic that led to Cas buying that pie. Because that was them. (I'm rewatching it. Don't judge.) I hope you guys enjoy this! Please let me know what you think, and what you want to see from Bucky and Darcy next. All my love -Rose_


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